Hedge funds Lansdowne Partners and Blue Mountain Capital were more generous with their pay last year, but in contrasting ways. While Lansdowne has ramped up comp for its rank-and-file employees by over £10m, Blue Mountain has quintupled the amount it shelled out for its best paid partner to £23.7m, despite a slight reduction in profits.

Both hedge funds have just released their 2013 accounts on Companies House in the UK. Lansdowne Partners added just three staff throughout 2013 to take its headcount to 88, and actually lost three employees working in a trading functions, but still increased its compensation pot from £13.7m in 2012 to £24.2m last year.

On a per head basis, this works out as £275k, but just 25 of its employees work in front office roles, with 63 in administration functions. In 2012, average pay per head was £161.1k.

2012 was something of a marquee year for Blue Mountain. It made big gains by trading on the other side of the ‘London whale’ trade, which eventually cost JPMorgan $6bn, and increased profits in its UK arm five-fold. It also hired more front office staff and doubled pay.

Last year was decidedly more subdued. Profits for the year held up relatively well, coming in at £20.1m compared to £21.6m in 2012, but it has continued to bolster its team. 32 people were employed at the end of 2013, up from 25 in 2012, and most were employed in front office roles.

Staff costs increased to £13.6m, or an average payment of £425k, compared to £472k per head in 2012.

The big uplift is in the amount given to one of its four UK partners. £23.7m was paid to the member with the largest entitlement, up from £4.7m in 2012.